New York Ferry

[peterconway]

Looks like someone has been watching the Captain Ron video on docking.

[paulk]

There can be a lot of current swirling around there, and if you're not paying attention... for a few seconds (an oil pressure alarm goes off? ) wham!

[Yamsailor]

It appears to be equipment failure.

[peterconway]

Originally Posted by paulk

There can be a lot of current swirling around there, and if you're not paying attention... for a few seconds (an oil pressure alarm goes off? ) wham!

Current wont take three feet off the bow.

[jackdale]

The ferry has been repowered recently. I wonder if the crew had sufficient practice with the new system?

[RichH]

Could also have been a large wake hit him just as he arrived close to the dock.
New York harbor is famous for 'tsunami type' wakes from especially all the smaller 'fast' catamaran hulled ferry boats crossing and crisscrossing one another; when these boats come off a plane or semi plane ... all hell can break loose.

Its not all that unusual for a NY harbor fast ferry boat to occasionally get 'slammed' up against a dock because of the wakes. Usually they 'front load' off the bow and with the engines engaged to 'keep tight' against the dock. This particular boat usually docks along its side.

[CalebD]

This was the Atlantic Higlands, NJ to Wall Street ferry and NOT the Staten Island Ferry which has made news before. Apparently this particular ferry has also been in previous accidents.
The linked article says that it may have been traveling close to 12 - 14 knots when it hit the pier. The pier they use is at the bottom of the East River which has a substantial current. I'm going to guess that if they shifted into reverse then the tranny did not engage.
New York City ferry crash leaves 85 injured - CNN.com

Gives added emphasis to the old saying: "Always approach the dock at the speed with which you intend to hit it."

[chef2sail]

Originally Posted by CalebD

This was the Atlantic Higlands, NJ to Wall Street ferry and NOT the Staten Island Ferry which has made news before. Apparently this particular ferry has also been in previous accidents.
The linked article says that it may have been traveling close to 12 - 14 knots when it hit the pier. The pier they use is at the bottom of the East River which has a substantial current. I'm going to guess that if they shifted into reverse then the tranny did not engage.
New York City ferry crash leaves 85 injured - CNN.com

Gives added emphasis to the old saying: "Always approach the dock at the speed with which you intend to hit it."

The AH Ferry (Seastreak) is one of the fast ferries too. I dont think it front unloads and docks up the East river at Wall St and 35 St. We have seen them many times when we travel up the East River

Gives added emphasis to the old saying: "Always approach the dock at the speed with which you intend to hit it

The current where they dock is fierce sometimes hitting 5-6 knots so there is no comming up to the dock slowly.

[killarney_sailor]

I was on a Toronto island (slow, but larger) ferry that hit a dock. It sounded like the driver was trying to get the transmission into reverse and it just would not go. I seem to remember three distinct attempts before we hit the dock at perhaps 3 knots. No significant injuries but there could have been since people were standing on stairs waiting to get off. Add an equipment failure to the vagaries of the East River.

[nolatom]

I would bet on prop control failure depriving capt of reverse, or enough reverse. But we'll see.

New reg coming, I would think--"stay seated till vessel is stopped, don't line up early at the exits" or the like. Downtown New Yorkers will hate this..